


City’s Your Playground

by hoodedmiho (missMHO)



Series: static [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Earth-27 (invented by the author), M/M, Olivarry Week 2017, Part of a series but can be read as stand-alone, Semi-Public Sex, villains au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-29 22:37:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11450499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missMHO/pseuds/hoodedmiho
Summary: “If I were your enemy, you’d already be dead,” Barry whispers, a bit playfully but letting the threat sound real enough, right next to the vigilante’s cheek and stays there only long enough for Hood to register his presence. The moment Hood’s eyes move to him, he speeds to his previous position in front of the vigilante - slightly to the left so that the second arrow swishes right past him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **This fic takes place on Earth-27 which I came up with for my other olivarry fic[ _Smooth Criminals_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10580271/chapters/23381559). This story is a sort of spin-off to that first fic - the characters from this one appeared along their Earth-1 counterparts there - but can be read as a separate work.**
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> This also is my contribution to Day 1 of [Olivarry Week](http://olivarryweek.tumblr.com/post/162664048924): Dark Olivarry AU. If everything goes according to plan, the second chapter of this should appear for Day 4 (Free day) of the event :)
> 
> Special thanks for [thekasialin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekasialin) and [kasssumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kasssumi) who took a look at it to check whether it's not a total disaster. I'm not a native speaker of English so I apologise for any mistakes!

Barry hated his life. Ever since he lost both his parents, to death and to the system that doesn’t believe little boys, he became a cog in the social care services machine. Even after becoming an independent adult, he never really felt like he escaped it. Then he was struck by lightning.

He got power. He got speed. He got _freedom._

First, he quit his job. He wanted to say he enjoyed teaching Chemistry to troubled teens in school he himself attended - but he didn’t. He felt caged by his fate even before he first stepped into the school building in his new adult position. Between classes and checking endless piles of quizzes, he read cheap paperbacks of criminal novels and came up with his own plans of break-ins into any building in Central City that held anything valuable.

Then he was given speed that allowed for these plans of a jaded teacher to be put to life.

Barry was never a greedy person, life didn’t allow him for that. But then he got power and that taste was enough for him to learn about wanting things… and taking them.

He didn’t need to teach another lesson of Chemistry if he could just _take_ from all these filthily rich judges that deprived him of his Father’s care right after he already lost one parent. Then he started stealing for sport, just to see if he could do it without using his powers. If he were too bold and screwed up, well, they wouldn’t be able to catch him anyway. No one was able to catch him now. No cell and no prison could hold him.

He didn’t think too much about how he got his speed a little bit too late. If it happened just a year earlier, he would have gotten his Father out, before the mutiny that took his life…

With his new powers and with time, Barry learns not to look back but always focus on what’s in front of him. He learns he deserves to take anything from this world that took so much from him when he was vulnerable.

So that's what he does, he claims whatever he wants.

ж

There’s one thing Barry craves with all his being that he hasn’t reached for yet. The matter is more complicated than just running in and grabbing what he wants before anyone can blink.

This time, he wants _a person_. A very particular one.

Barry scrolls through his feed about Starling City’s vigilante, greedily looking for new information. In his two years of activity, Hood managed to kill most of the bigger players that apparently didn’t have place in his vision of how Starling should be ran. He gained control over the drug cartels in the city and got rid of anyone who tried to stop or overthrow him.

Hood’s relentlessness, confidence, and skill… Barry admired him and followed his activity almost since his first appearance. But he wants to know more than the scraps media offer him. He wants to learn the man’s story, his motivations…. And now he feels like he has something to offer to the vigilante. Hood could surely have use of someone with Barry’s powers, couldn’t he?

Barry’s also pretty hot for the vigilante but he’s trying not to focus too much on that part. After all, Hood could be as straight as his arrows, but… Well, Barry does leave himself room for imagination, especially in his bed during long lonely nights.

When a freshly taken blurry photo of Hood appears on Twitter, Barry doesn’t think twice before getting ready to visit Starling. He changes into his running suit which he stole from S.T.A.R. Labs after three sets of his regular clothes caught fire from friction. He made some basic changes to it, removing most of the accessories that were obviously intended to aid firefighter’s work, but that was it. It’s not like he made a lot of public appearances. Besides, whoever was left of S.T.A.R. Labs employees could _try_ and get it back from him if they recognized their creation.

Barry puts the cowl on and takes a deep breath before his run to Starling.

This is it.

ж

When Barry appears on the roof just a few steps away from Hood, in a blink of an eye there’s an arrow ready to be fired right at him.

“Relax, I just wanted to see you work up close,” Barry says, raising his hands in surrender. Less than a second later the arrow is released. From Barry’s perspective, it’s flying quite slowly and he has time to assess the trajectory - the projectile was aimed at his shoulder, not anywhere vital. So Hood wanted to talk to him first, probably torture him for information, but the lack of lethal intentions is already a little win in Barry’s book.

Barry catches the arrow and grins, just to see the vigilante’s reaction. Hood is shocked enough that he draws the second arrow with significant delay. But before he can release another projectile, Barry speeds towards him so that he’s standing right behind the archer.

“If I were your enemy, you’d already be dead,” Barry whispers, a bit playfully but letting the threat sound real enough, right next to the vigilante’s cheek and stays there only long enough for Hood to register his presence. The moment Hood’s eyes move to him, he speeds to his previous position in front of the vigilante - slightly to the left so that the second arrow swishes right past him.

“As I said,” Barry repeats, smirking. He fiddles with the arrow still in his hand. “I just wanted to see you work up close. So far, I’m impressed.”

“What are you?!” Hood growls at him, another arrow already drawn. But he’s not shooting yet.

“A fan of your work,” Barry answers truthfully. “Someone with a specific skill set who would be more than eager to work together.”

“I don’t just _work together_ with people, Red,” Hood says in a tone indicating that Barry must be out of his mind.

“Well, I’m not just _people_ , am I?” Barry says and super-speeds towards the other man, removes the arrow from the vigilante’s bow, and returns to his spot. “Listen, I’m aware you’re probably not the trusting type, you’d be dead at this point if you were, but…”

Hood lets out a resigned sigh and lowers his bow

“...I could’ve killed you, wrapped you up like a Christmas present and given to your enemies, checked what face is hiding under that hood and then put it on Twitter, _whatever I wanted_ before you could blink. I didn’t. I think that’s a good start.”

There’s a shadow of an impressed smirk on Hood’s lips and Barry counts that as a win.

“You can see I don’t like to draw things out, I’m a fast going kind of guy so I’ll do one more thing that may make you more inclined to cooperate _quicker_.”

Barry takes off his cowl and looks at Hood challengingly. His face won’t tell Hood anything, it’s not like he’s a celebrity, but it is a show of trust and gestures are all Barry’s got at this point. The vigilante crosses his arms on his chest, regarding him. The muscles of his arms become more outlined under his suit and Barry’s gaze is immediately drawn to them. Barry licks his lips and consciously makes his eyes stay on Hood’s shadowed face.

Unexpectedly, Hood chuckles.

“You want to team up or fuck because I’m getting mixed signals here.”

Barry’s lips spread in a wide smile. “Whatever you want, I’m offering both,” he says truthfully, putting his hands on his hips.

Hood approaches him in a couple of confident strides, puts a hand on his chest and pushes him until Barry’s back hits the door leading into the building’s staircase. Then the vigilante gets even closer, his leg between Barry’s, caging him against the door. Hood leans in, his lips hovering over Barry’s jaw. For a moment Barry wonders if Hood is now considering whether to snap his neck or lick it.

“I don’t know _what_ you are or _who do you think you are_ approaching me like this,” Hood says against Barry’s neck before biting him. The speedster swallows a moan. “But you’re already driving me crazy.”

“You seem to like it,” Barry chuckles as one of his hands cups Hood’s crotch. He can feel the shape of Hood’s cock, he’s not hard yet but definitely getting there. Barry decides to help him with that and makes his hand vibrate a little as he starts stroking the other man through his clothes. Hood lets out a sound that’s a mixture of surprise and pleasure.

“I still got some more tricks up my sleeve,” Barry says smugly as Hood moves his hips for more contact with the speedster’s hand. In response, Hood goes back to Barry’s neck, licking and sucking his skin. For once, Barry wishes that he didn’t heal so fast, then maybe in the morning he’d find a mark left by the Hood and it would be easier to believe it’s not just one of his dreams again.

Barry stops his hand from vibrating to feel the shape of Hood’s cock, now fully hard and straining his trousers.

“Fuck, I’d love to feel it in my mouth,” Barry breathes out loud before he can stop himself. Hood makes a thoughtful growling sound before shifting their positions so that now it’s his back that’s against the wall. Then he slides one of his hands into Barry’s hair, grips them and tugs sharply, making the speedster go down and kneel in front of him.

Barry doesn’t need more encouragement once he’s on the ground. He starts to undo Hood’s trousers while the vigilante’s hand still tugs on his hair, but more playfully, almost as a caress. Barry’s mouth water at the sight of Hood’s shaft and for a split second he doesn’t really believe this is happening. Then he takes the head into his mouth and sucks before he moves to licking the length up and down. Hood moans out loud, unreserved. It’s the only skin on skin contact they had beside Hood’s lips on Barry’s neck which seems a bit crazy. But Barry doesn’t dwell on that as he takes as much of Hood’s cock into his mouth as he can so that he may rip these sounds out of the vigilante once more.

He feels that Hood is close when he starts thrusting into his mouth and Barry hears faint stifled moans above him. Hood’s hand is still in Barry’s hair, keeping him in place as the vigilante fucks his mouth. Barry wouldn’t have it any other way. His own erection is leaking in his suit and he feels as if he may climax himself if Hood comes into his mouth. He must stop himself from getting his hands into his trousers and giving himself some relief. He _really_ hopes Hood will take care of it later and he’s not going to deprive himself of that chance.

Hood comes with a strained curse on his lips and Barry’s lightheaded with the sensation, his own cock still painfully hard. He lets Hood pull him back up and once Barry’s standing, the vigilante turns him around. Barry feels the body behind him, so close and firm, pressing at his back. Then there’s one hand unzipping his trousers and another one appearing in front of his face.

“Take it off,” Hood orders in a hoarse voice that sends chills up Barry’s back. The man’s probably expecting Barry to use his own hands but the speedster just leans closer, takes the tip on the glove between his teeth and tugs. Hood laughs.

“You really are driving me crazy, Pretty Boy,” Hood growls against Barry’s ear and the speedster has a come back ready but it’s lost to a moan that escapes his lips when the vigilante’s bare hand _finally_ wraps around his cock.

Hood’s other arm is wrapped tightly around Barry’s waist, keeping him close and pressed against the other man. The vigilante’s mouth is back on the speedster neck, licking and biting. Barry is really grateful for that arm keeping him in place because he’s not sure whether he could stay upright with Hood’s hand pumping him so magnificently. He’s louder than the other man, almost keening while begging Hood not to stop. He doesn’t last too long with that much build up and soon he sees his own seed spraying the ground in front of them.

The vigilante gives Barry a moment to catch his breath with his hand still around the speedster’s waist. Then he leaves one last bite on Barry’s neck and withdraws. Barry shivers at the lack of the other man’s body but doesn’t say anything. He fixes his trousers, grateful that none of his release stained the suit. He’s pretty sure the vigilante chose that position to jerk him off so that Barry didn’t have an additional chance to peek under the hood up close and not because he was thinking about probable stains on the speedster’s clothes, but he appreciates it nonetheless.

Barry observes as Hood leans down to pick up his glove and puts it on. He’s not really sure what he’s supposed to do now - he offered his services to the vigilante but the man didn’t really say anything on that topic. Barry puts his hands on his hips and waits.

“Come back tomorrow, same place,” Hood finally says when his suit is complete again, all with the arrows that Barry took from him earlier and they ended up on the ground along with the glove. “We’ll talk about that other team-up, Pretty Boy.”

He nods at Barry and before the speedster has a chance to comment on the nickname again, the vigilante jumps off the roof and disappears into the night.

Barry could catch up with him but he doesn’t follow. They’ll have more nights for this.

ж  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two are spiralling out of control. First they get their own fic after being background characters in [_Smooth Criminals_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10580271) and then this fic just keeps growing as I write it xD  
>  But this is it for now when it comes to Barry and Oliver from Earth-27. Let me know if anyone would like to maybe read some more about these two - I'm not promising anything but I'm not saying it's definitely the end either.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy! <3

Barry’s running back from Starling and all he can think about is what food he feels like stealing on the way to his flat today. After Hood got him looking all over the city for the lair of an organisation called League of Assassins, he’s tired and starving. He decides to go for Big Belly Burger since they always have something prepared and ready to be served, and Barry is out of patience after his fruitless search for fucking ninjas today.

The last thing he expects is for someone to be waiting for him in his flat.

He actually freezes in the middle of his living room, with the bags of food still in his hand, and stares for a moment at the long-haired man that dared to invade his space.

“I knew I found the right guy,” the intruder comments, looking Barry up and down. He’s taking in his suit in a way that makes Barry realize that somebody from S.T.A.R. Labs did notice the lack of it in their inventory.

Barry drops the take-out and speeds towards the intruder, grabbing him by his leather jacket and pinning him to the wall with force.

“How did you find me?” he asks angrily, pushing at the intruder’s windpipe just enough to let him speak but also enough to communicate a threat.

“That running trick you got, dude? That’s generating a lot of unique energy. It’s easy to track it, if you’re clever enough to know how.”

A smug smile appears on the intruder’s mouth and then Barry feels as if he was hit by a car and he flies back into the wall.

“What--”

“Come on, you must know you’re not the only one in this city with new-found powers.”

Of course he knows. He already took down a few who were in the way of his business. One of them, a man with red eyes and ability to manipulate emotions, was even stupid enough to leave Central City and try to take over in Starling. It was Barry and Hood’s first collaborative kill.

Barry tries to get up from the floor but the intruder hits him again and this time Barry sees with what - almost invisible waves of energy coming out of the other man’s hands.

“What do you want?” Barry spits out when he gets his breath back.

“To talk, for now.” He regards Barry and flexes his fingers. “No powers, deal?”

Barry considers the offer. He’s vexed and tired but the man is intriguing. He may hear him out. He’ll manage to kill him now that he knows what he’s up against, if it turns out that whatever the man has to say isn’t convincing enough.

“Deal,” he agrees out loud, finally getting up. “What should I call you?”

“I’m Cisco Ramon,” the other man nods at Barry but doesn’t extend his hand. He’s smart, he knows the speedster wouldn’t take it. Not yet.

“Barry Allen, though the internet started calling me the Flash.” The speedster introduces himself to establish common ground, speaking the nickname with a playful tone. He gets serious when he speaks his next words: “Okay, Ramon. Talk.”

ж

When Cisco Ramon invaded his flat weeks ago, Barry didn’t expect they will form any kind of partnership. But the man turned out to be highly-intelligent and smart. And he knew what he was doing.

When Barry got his powers, he didn’t plan to take control over Central City like Hood did with Starling. However, he soon learned that if he wanted to continue to roam free and take what he wants, he needed to establish some kind of dominance as the Flash. Barry didn’t want the city to fall, it was _his_ and he loved it, so he always acted in a calculated way. Taking from places where there was abundance and never draining any sources. Some of other metahumans - as Ramon called the people with powers - didn’t pay attention to such details. He was forced to take care of them so that they didn’t disturb the balance.

Then there were also the emerging heroes. Especially one metahuman was causing Barry trouble, Ramon called him Captain Cold. He could produce ice and manipulate very low temperatures. It didn’t play well with Barry’s speed. Cold crossed paths with the Flash a couple of times, with different results. Barry never managed to get rid of him for good but he wasn’t too frustrated with the fact. Cold was a worthy opponent and he didn’t pose a threat to the city or the balance. Barry was kind of enjoying their merry chase so far. If he became too problematic, the Flash would take care of him then.

With Barry dividing his attention between his city and aiding Hood, sometimes it became a bit too much to constantly keep his hand on the pulse. But Ramon shared Barry’s vision of keeping the balance in Central City. So when he offered they team up, Barry agreed. If Ramon ever did something out of the line, Barry would just remove him from the equation.

One day Ramon said he wanted the Flash to meet someone. He took Barry to the ruined building of S.T.A.R. Labs and introduced him to Harrison Wells. Ramon used to work for the man and stayed even after many people in the city fell into comas, as the effect of the particle accelerator explosion, and S.T.A.R. Labs took responsibility to take care of the victims. They worked together until Ramon discovered he had powers and decided to become his own man. He still kept in touch with Wells, though.

After meeting Wells, Barry was glad he didn’t need any medical attention after getting his powers. On the outside, Wells seemed like an open and kind man. But there was something about him that rubbed Barry the wrong way. He could sense in him the same greediness that lurked within Barry.

Then Wells started talking about training Barry and he knew they could never form any kind of partnership. Barry was forced to rely on the system most of his life and now that he could finally set his own rules, he wasn’t going to be controlled by anyone. The only person he took orders from was Hood and that only happened because Barry chose it to be this way. Thankfully, Ramon didn’t insist on Wells joining the two of them in running things in Central City their way. Wells wasn’t happy but Barry didn’t really care.

Everything was finally falling into place.

ж

When Barry arrived in Starling City to ask Hood to either fuck his brains out or find him someone to bleed, Hood didn’t ask questions, just delivered.

Up until now.

Barry is lying on the bed, his skin cooling after the sex. He still feels a bit dizzy after Hood fulfilled his wish and made him forget everything with his rough hands and cock. Unfortunately, Barry is coming to and remembering the reason for this whole thing.

“I assume something happened in your city to make you so hectic today,” Hood says, standing by the window with his back to the speedster. Barry feels like there should be a question mark somewhere at the end but it’s not audible in the vigilante’s tone.

Barry sighs and gets up. They already stayed in here for too long, the corpse of today’s target is still in the study a few rooms over and they need to set fire to the house before anyone notices the man is gone. The speedster starts putting his suit back on in normal speed and then finally starts answering the question.

“My mother was murdered when I was a kid. My dad went to prison for it and was killed there,” he doesn’t look at Hood as he continues. “He was innocent. I’ve seen who murdered my mother that night but no one believed me,” he can hear the bitterness in his own voice but he can’t hide it. “It was a yellow blur,” he laughs hollowly. “Only now I know he was a speedster like me…”

He zips up the suit and, fully dressed, joins Hood by the window. Barry knows the vigilante doesn’t like having him face to face, with his identity still a secret between them, but he feels like he needs to be closer for that last part, at least shoulder to shoulder.

“I’ve seen him today. That same yellow blur. He appeared in _my_ city and _mocked_ me--” he feels himself shaking with anger. “And I wasn’t fast enough to catch him and rip a hole in his chest.”

Strong arms wrap around Barry’s waist and he feels a firm chest pressed against his back.

“You’ll find a way to crash him, Pretty Boy,” Hood rumbles against his ear and he stops shaking. “Who can stand up to you?”

ж

The League of Assassins demands a meeting and they’re not ready.

Barry was wearing himself thin for weeks between trying to get his hands on Reverse Flash and helping Hood track down Malcolm Merlyn. The speedster was so excited that Hood finally trusted him enough to share the information about White Canary’s murder that he couldn’t say no when the vigilante asked for aid in finding her murderer. But Merlyn, just like Reverse Flash, was slipping through their fingers. And the League was running out of patience.

Finally, here they are. Facing the Daughter of the Demon and her warriors without any tangible evidence and without the culprit. Hood didn’t want him there but Barry listens to his orders to a point.

Before they can even exchange a word, the meeting turns to disaster.

The arrow comes from an unexpected direction and strikes one of Daughter’s warriors right in the heart. Barry turns towards the source of the projectile and after a moment he finally manages to see a silhouette of an archer in black on the neighbouring building. The attack was lethal so it must be Malcolm Merlyn trying to get Hood killed before he can reveal the identity of White Canary’s killer.

“You're making a mistake, it's wasn't any of my people!” Barry hears Hood say and when he turns back to the Daughter and her warriors, all of their bows are drawn and they're ready to fire. He sees them release their arrows after decided sign given by their leader and the world around him slows down.

He knows that after his recent _meetings_ with Reverse Flash, he won't be able to catch all of these arrows, he barely made it to Starling today and then hadn't had a chance to regain his strength.

The arrows get closer, faster than he'd like them to, and Barry knows Hood won't survive such an attack.

But he could.

He only has enough time to take a step but that's enough. After that there's only pain and the smell of blood.

ж

Barry wakes up abruptly. He's still on the roof, bleeding out, the starless sky above him. The dozen arrows are still in his body.

“You need-- need to get them-m out,” he wheezes out once he hears Hood close, saying something. He can't understand the words said next to him but all he needs is to tell the vigilante how to save him. He tastes blood in his mouth. “I heal fast, j-just take them out.”

He feels a gloved hand on his forehead before he passes out again.

ж

This time when he wakes up, it's not that sudden and full of pain. There's still a dull unpleasant tingling where the projectiles ripped his skin and muscles but he's not bleeding out anymore. He's not on a roof, too. The light is different and he can't hear the city.

Barry finally opens his eyes and he needs to adjust to the brightness of lamps above him before he takes in his surroundings. He's lying on some sort of table, with his chest bare and trousers shredded in places where the arrows hit, there's a rack full of arrows on his left, and on his right…

 _Oh_.

The vigilante is standing next to him but his hood is down and for a moment Barry's brain short circuits. He had a theory that Hood may be Oliver Queen but seeing it with his own eyes is another thing.

Oliver Queen is right there in the vigilante’s dark green suit, brows drawn in worry, and he's just fucking beautiful. Barry realizes he must be staring in awe but he can't really help it.

“That was really stupid what you did there.”

Barry grins and raises to a sitting position.

“Well, you never called me a ‘ _clever_ boy’.”

Hood scoffs and rolls his eyes but when he looks at Barry again, there's intensity there that makes the speedster breathless.

Next thing he knows there's a hand on his chest and lips against his and he's being kissed, intensely, almost desperately. He returns the kiss with matching passion, moaning into the other man's mouth.

They never did it before. They fucked multiple times all over Starling, on rooftops, in staircases, and targets’ bedrooms. They bit, licked, marked. But they never kissed.

It's simultaneously too much and ends too soon. Barry's not sure whether that was a one time thank-you or if this shift in their quasi-relationship is more permanent. He’s not going to ask, though. They never really talked about what they are to each other, just went with their urges and emotions.

Oliver is still leaning on the table Barry's sitting on, looming above the speedster, when he asks: “Were you certain that you'll survive?”

Barry doesn't look away from Oliver’s gaze when he answers. “I knew I had a better chance than you.”

Oliver’s eyes soften slightly. The gesture is so minute but it almost takes the speedster’s breath away. Barry’s not used to seeing his lover’s face. Hood was an enigma who rarely communicated his emotions with words. Now Barry can see these blue eyes, the delicate expressions on this beautiful face.

“Did you manage to apprehend Merlyn?” the speedster asks before he can blurt out anything neither of them wants to hear.

“Black Canary got him when I was taking care of you,” Oliver nods with a small smile. “She’s delivering his body to the Daughter of the Demon as we speak.”

“Good,” Barry comments, not trying to hide the satisfaction in his voice. He wants to say something else but his thoughts scatter when Oliver’s fingers move on his chest, tenderly circling the places where it’s still visible that the skin was ripped by an arrow.

“You should meet the rest of the team, Pretty Boy” Oliver says. He sounds absent-mindedly, most of his focus seems to be on the speedster’s skin. “But we’ll have time for that tomorrow. Tonight, you’re mine.”

ж

Barry feels powerless and he _hates it_. He hadn’t felt powerless even for a second since he got his speed but now he does and it feels like a parasite within his body. After weeks of a merry-go-round with Reverse Flash, endless experiments with Ramon trying to boost his speed, and Oliver being AWOL, he’s just so tired and angry.

Tonight, Reverse Flash has extended an invitation to put an end to their game of cat and mouse. He must be getting restless with the situation, too. Barry feels it in his bones that only one speedster will get out of today’s meeting alive. He’s just not sure which one.

He tried to call Oliver, as he did myriad of times these past weeks, to no avail. But this time he left a message. Barry wanted to tell him a lot of things, in case he never again had a chance to, but in the end he recorded only two words - _thank you_.

Reverse Flash’s blurred figure is already waiting for him when he arrives.

“I will drain the speed force out of your dying body, Flash,”

Barry grins. “Did you come here to fight or to chat?”

They take off and Barry’s doing his best to make the confrontation more static. Running after each other hadn’t worked so far so he tries to make use of the basic combat training he received from Oliver before the archer disappeared.

The change of tactics works. Neither of them is a highly trained hand-to-hand fighter but it seems to wear Reverse Flash out enough for Barry to hold his own. But even with this, Barry doesn’t feel like either of them is getting an upper hand. He doesn’t know what to do next to tip the scales in his favour.

The arrow seems to appear out of nowhere and Reverse Flash must have been as engaged in their fight as Barry because he doesn’t dodge. Both men stop, flabbergasted, when the projectile hits Reverse Flash in the shoulder. The yellow speedster looks down at it and laughs.

“Your boyfriend’s toothpicks won’t stop me,” he says with contempt, reaching with his hand to take it out but he ceases mid-motion. Barry freezes, too, when Reverse Flash’s blurred silhouette comes into focus and suddenly he’s not that imposing.

“What--” the man blurts out but he doesn’t need to say anything more for Barry to understand. He discerns that the tip of the arrow is a syringe. Whatever was in it, it was powerful enough to deprive Reverse Flash of his speed.

Barry doesn’t wait to see whether the effect is permanent or temporary, he doesn’t wait to see the anguish blooming on Reverse Flash’s face when he realizes what happened, too. He punches the man with all the power he can gather in his hand and watches with satisfaction as the other speedster falls to the ground. He kneels down, with one of his knees on Reverse Flash’s chest, pushing with enough force to constrict the man’s breathing.

Then he pulls the arrow out of the other speedster’s shoulder and with one calculated motion he drives it into the man’s eye.

He feels as if a horrible weight has just been pulled off his back, a weight he’s been carrying since he was a child left alone in this world.

Barry still watches Reverse Flash’s lifeless remaining eye when he feels a presence behind him. He gets up and turns to see an archer clad in the League of Assassins’ black. But no disguise can hide Oliver from him now. He takes a step closer to the man and, slowly, removes the mask. Then he leans in and leaves a short kiss on Oliver’s mouth. After he withdraws, he keeps his eyes closed for a moment to savour that simple kiss - he thought he’d never get to do that again.

“I wanted to deliver him dead to you but when I finally tracked him down, I found you both here.”

Barry scoffs. “You could have just called to let me know that you’re _alive_ , I don’t need you delivering carcass like a stray cat that decided to come back and apologise after disappearing.”

Oliver smirks.”I never even got you flowers or anything,” he shrugs and Barry grins. Of course the archer would bring him his dead nemesis instead of just asking him on a date. Who says romance is dead?

“Where did you get that?” Barry asks, nodding at the arrow in the yellow speedster’s eye. “I wouldn’t want that serum in anyone’s hands but yours,” he confesses. Whatever it is, it could stop him, too.

“I have a trusted friend who’s a specialist in dealing with supernatural biology,” Oliver explains. “I’ll introduce you two, you have nothing to fear from him. I actually think you and Doctor Constantine will hit it off.”

Barry trusts Oliver with his life so he’s going to trust him on this as well.

“I missed you,” Oliver suddenly admits as he pulls the speedster in for another kiss, and this one is longer and deeper. “But I didn’t just want to apologise for disappearing,” he says once they part. His hand raises to rub something off of Barry’s cheek. Barry assumes it must be blood. “I came with a proposition.”

Barry leans into Oliver’s hand. “I’m listening.”

“We never really defined our relationship but I want you by my side no matter what,” the archer confesses and Barry feels his heart beating hard in his chest. “I decided to join the League, I feel that what they offer can only benefit my work, but--” he hesitates and leans in until their foreheads are touching. “I want you to follow, I _need_ you to come with me.”

Barry’s speechless, taking the words in at a slow pace in fear of misinterpreting anything.

“We can rule the world together,” Oliver whispers and the speedster can hear the longing in his voice. For that vision but also for Barry.

“I’m yours and you know it, Ollie,” Barry finally answers and he takes a deep breath before speaking next. “I love you.”

Oliver laughs and it sounds like relief. Barry kisses him and the archer breathes out “I love you, Pretty Boy,” against his lips. This could be the best night in Barry’s life.

“Let’s take the world,” Barry moans out between kisses and Oliver laughs again, this time with sheer joy.

Who can stop the pair of them now?

жжж

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](http://missmho.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/hoodedmiho) if you want to fangirl over flarrow crossovers together.


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